Lavender oil in a face oil for men
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil · essential oil · 0.4% of the formula, within the 2.0% blend
The lavender in this face oil is the essential oil of true lavender, printed on the label as Lavandula Angustifolia Oil. It is 0.4% of the bottle, one of five essential oils in a 2.0% blend.
It adds scent: a clean, herbal note that opens the blend and steps aside. The body of the oil is jojoba, at 82.5%; lavender is there to be smelled, briefly.
By Jon Gore, founder, Berlin · Last reviewed
What is Lavandula angustifolia oil?
The essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia, the narrow-leaved lavender that both the perfume trade and the pharmacy trade settled on centuries ago. Its other common names are true lavender and, though it is not native to England, English lavender.
At this dose it is one voice in a nine-part chord, pitched under the woods and the resin: under Australian sandalwood oil and frankincense oil from Boswellia serrata. Not a sachet in a linen drawer.
What does 0.4% mean?
0.4%, inside the 2.0% essential-oil blend. Lavender is easy to over-pour and hard to un-pour; the number keeps it a note rather than a theme. Most of the bottle is two plain oils: jojoba and rosehip seed oil, 15%.
When a formula leads with lavender, the lavender is usually the product. Here it is line four of nine.
What does lavender do in this bottle?
| Aspect | In this bottle |
|---|---|
| Scent | Herbal and clean, closer to a workshop than a bath shop. It opens the blend and steps aside. |
| Proportion | 0.4%. Loud plants at quiet doses: the method in one line. |
| Declaration | Its naturally occurring aroma compounds are named on the label among the declared allergens, printed rather than folded into "parfum". |
Everything here is sensory or compositional. None of it is a medical claim: none may be made, and none is needed.
What does it not do?
Does not smell like a sachet.
Does not put you to sleep.
Does not calm your nervous system. It is a smell, not a sedative.
Is not aromatherapy.
It smells good at 0.4%. Claims end there, on purpose. If you know a fragrance ingredient disagrees with you, read the allergens on the label first, and test a drop on the inner arm before the face.
Where does it come from?
Angustifolia grows lean on poor, dry ground. The plants that struggle make the oil worth distilling.
[ An earlier draft claimed a French second-cutting origin; it was struck pending certificates of analysis, and stays struck until they arrive. ]
What does "hypoallergenic" mean on a label?
No regulated definition and no agreed test. The word is a hope with a suffix. The law already does the useful thing: it names the allergens that must be declared. Ours are printed, which is the part a word like this would rather you skipped.
Questions
- Should I patch-test it?
- Yes, as with anything new: a drop on the inner arm for a few days. If the skin reacts, don't use it.
- Does it smell of roses?
- No. Refined rosehip seed oil smells of very little. The scent comes from sandalwood, lavender, frankincense, cedar and tea tree, 2% together. Why rosehip seed oil has no rose scent
Sources
- Lavandula angustifolia, Wikipedia
- Essential oil, Wikipedia
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, Annex III (fragrance allergens that must be declared on the label)